


The More Things Change

by shopfront



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: F/F, Female Friendship, Gen, Hollow Earth, Post-Series, Sentient Sanctuary, Underground Sanctuary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-19 17:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11318055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: Helen's determined to bring the old team back together.





	The More Things Change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kimaracretak](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimaracretak/gifts).



> Thanks to L for the beta.

“This place is beautiful,” Kate said softly, running her hand up the arching side of a corridor.

“It’s not too hard on the eyes, no,” Helen agreed, smiling.

The corridor’s lighting level brightened a moment, and then dimmed back to normal. Kate gasped, but recovered quickly. 

“What was that?” she asked, then drew her hand back from the wall with a yelp. “It buzzed or something under my hand! What the hell?”

Helen laughed. “I think she was just trying to say thank you for the compliment.”

“She? Oh no, oh no no no,” Kate said, cradling her hand against her chest as if it had been burnt and backing away. “We have done the possessed Sanctuary thing before. It did not end well!”

“Relax, Kate,” Helen said, still chuckling. She took her by the shoulders and steered her through a doorway into what appeared to be a study. “Our old Sanctuary was never intended to house a consciousness, so it was defenceless in the face of an invader. I just made sure this Sanctuary would be able to put up a fight if it came down to it, just in case. Live and learn, you might say.”

“But- I used the elevators this morning! Not to mention you have mechanics controlling all the transport in and out, and air, and water… we’re sitting ducks down here!”

“Yes, and the new Sanctuary AI controls it all marvellously so you haven’t noticed any problems. Have you?” she asked, her tone making it clear that it wasn’t actually a question.

“Not yet, I haven’t,” Kate said, dropping into a seat and hunching down sulkily.

“That face looks more like the you I remember,” Helen said fondly, sitting down herself behind the large wooden desk in the centre the room. “Kate Freelander, Diplomat. I almost didn’t believe it when they told me. It suits you, though.”

Kate shrugged one shoulder and unfolded herself a little with a smile. 

“It’s just representing a tiny little colony, nothing flash or fancy.”

“And yet somehow I suspect you’ve been bringing a bang to the proceedings.” Helen raised an eyebrow and then looked amused when Kate blushed.

“Who have you been speaking with?”

“Oh, I have my contacts. The New Praxian Senate is rather like the last one, unfortunately, but there are a few notable exceptions.”

“Ranna?” Kate asked, voice heavy.

Helen examined Kate silently for a moment, and then gave a slight nod.

“She told me that you still weren’t on good terms, but I didn’t realise you felt that strongly about her after all this time.”

“She killed us, Magnus! It’s hardly something that fades from memory. How are _you_ on good speaking terms with her?”

“I’ve known Ranna now since she was a young, wide-eyed new recruit to the Senate, about to enter the Avatar chamber for the first time and rather in need of advice. It lends something of a different perspective to a person.”

Kate frowned. “How-“

“Ah. But I keep forgetting you’ve been down here for the last few months instead of in the old Sanctuary with the rest of the team,” Helen said with a sigh. “There was a bit of a… situation, with Adam Worth. I was stranded in the past-“

“And so you went to Hollow Earth to, what, wait it out? And make friends with old enemies?”

“Pretty much. Not just Hollow Earth, mind you, but I deliberately spent enough time in Praxis to build this place,” she said, waving a hand around, “as well as get to know Ranna a little better and set a few other things in motion.”

She ducked her head as she said Ranna’s name and went a little rosy cheeked herself, and Kate suddenly sat up straight.

“Wa-ait. I didn’t know you were… Are you?” Kate asked, eyebrows raised high.

Helen smirked and shrugged one shoulder. “One needs a few secrets to keep things interesting.”

Kate stared for a beat, and then let out a slightly wild laugh. “Are you trying to tell me that you just got bored?”

“Don't be ridiculous," Helen said with a sniff and a cheeky smile. "In my day I was simply often the only woman in my line of work. But enough about my love life, I want to hear what you’ve been up to.”

Kate pulled a face over being diverted from gossip, but quickly caved and waved a careless hand. “Oh, this and that.”

“When they told me you’d be stopping by to discuss trade between us and some of the new colonies, they implied you might be looking for a change of address as well?”

“Oh,” Kate averted her eyes and shrugged a shoulder. “Well. You know how it is. Surface girl moves below ground for a boy, boy meets another girl from his hometown, things get weird and awkward for everybody.”

“Ah. I see. I’m sorry-“

“Don’t be,” Kate said. “I wouldn’t have even heard about this place or realised what it was if I wasn’t travelling between colonies, anyway.”

“Yes, Hollow Earth is surprisingly large, isn’t it.”

“You can say that again. It was big to begin with and it feels like it’s doubled since everyone retreated from the surface again. Everywhere I go, someone seems to be digging.”

They drifted into silence, Kate studying the book lined room and Helen studying Kate.

“This is nice,” Kate said eventually, tilting her head towards the nearest shelf. “I didn’t realise I missed stuff from home so much till I started spotting familiar things about the place here.”

“Holo-technology just isn’t the same when it comes to a good book, is it?” Helen asked thoughtfully, and Kate shook her head. “You know, we’re still a little short handed here. I’m expecting Will any day now, but in the meantime I have rather a lot of guests and not a lot of hands to feed them.”

“Are you offering me another job?”

Helen shrugged, picked up a paperweight and tossed in the air. Then she put it back down and stood to walk around the desk and settle in front of Kate. “I don’t know that you ever really left the last one. We could just call it a sabbatical?”

“Just a really long holiday of my own and now I’m back to, what, bond with the Steno’s like nothing ever happened?”

“I don’t see why not,” Helen said, staring her down.

“That’s really generous-“

“But you still don’t like accepting offers of help,” Helen said, raising an eyebrow and refusing to let Kate look away. “We need to work on that. But more importantly, I really do need some assistance around here and I miss your company, Kate. It isn’t charity.”

Kate sat in silence for a moment, and then opened her mouth but Helen cut her off quickly.

“Before you accept, perhaps I might give you a tour? It’s not _quite_ the same old, same old around here. I’ve made a few upgrades to Sanctuary’s scope over the last century,” she said, standing with a flourish and picking up a clipboard off the desk. “I had a little spare time to fill, after all.”

Kate gave a wry chuckle and shook her head. 

“Alright,” she said, standing up as well and putting her hands on her hips. “If you insist we go back out into that living, humming death trap of a city.”

“I do,” Helen replied, smiling widely. “I really, really do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I combed back through your tumblr when there wasn't much about Sanctuary in your letter, and pulled out that you might like Helen in her gentle mentor role, hints of a more sentient city, and a little Ranna/Helen. I hope I pulled enough strings together that you enjoyed this little set up for Kate and Helen (and Ranna!) to keep being kickarse together after the show ended.


End file.
